Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sweater Sunday

It's Sweater Sunday, and what a humdinger of a Sweater Sunday it was! I got a ton of sweaters... 82 to be exact. Ready? Here's the haul...


... with some great patterns...


... a gorgeous froggable...


... a bunch of cashmere...


.... and a fun patterned wool blanket.


Now THAT is a Sweater Sunday!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Recycled wool book list



Ok, here's that list I was talking about yesterday. These are in no particular order. Please let me know if you know of one that is not on this list & i'll add it. Most, if not all of these books can be found on Amazon.com.

Recycled wool books:

- Sweater Surgery: How to Make New Things with Old Sweaters, by Stefanie Girard
- The Sweater Chop Shop, by Crispina ffrench
- Felt it! Stitch it! Fabulous!, by
Katheryn Tidwell Bieber
-
Felted Wool Fashions: Making New Styles from Old Knits, by Vivian Peritts
-
Sweater Renewal: Felting Knits into New Sweaters and Accessories by Sharon Franco Rothschild
- Warm Fuzzies, by Betz White
- Sewing Green, by Betz White
-
Wool Felting Workshop, by Vivian Peritts
- The Art of Chopping Up a Sweater, by Anna-Stina Linden Ivarsson



eta: I have added a Swagbucks clickable box at the bottome of my right sidebar. Swagbucks is a new search engine (like using Google), and when you use it you randomly win "swagbucks"... points to redeem for stuff. When you have 45 swagbucks you can get a $5 Amazon.com gift card. I have won them already, and the Swagbucks add up fast! If you click through the box on my blog it will give me matching Swagbucks that you win, so lets earn us some Swagbucks together, and we can get some of these books!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Craft books for Christmas ideas


I thought of something yesterday, when I was feeling low on ideas. It occurred to me that I should check the library for recycled wool craft books. I wasn't expecting to find anything, but to my surprise they had both The Sweater Chop Shop by Crispina Ffrench & Sweater surgery : how to make new things with old sweaters by Stefanie Girard. I like to buy craft books from the authors, or in the store, so they get paid for it, but right now I cannot afford to be buying new books. However, I have made yet another discovery... If I submit a suggestion to the library, they almost always will order it, so a copy will get paid for! I will be compiling a list of suggestions for my library today :) I will share it with you all later!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Sarah Bird


It is the time of year where we are seeking out those perfect somethings for those perfect someones, and Sarah Bird's Etsy shop would be a fabulous place to start! Not only is she obviously talented, but she makes a wide variety of great items from recycled wool barrettes & rompers, to recycled cashmere baby blankets & hats.



Knitting gauge


A customer of mine gave me a great tip (Thanks Melissa!). She said that it would be helpful to use a knitting gauge for the froggable sweaters, so the yarn reclaimers would have a better idea of what they were getting. I went into my local yarn shop to see if they had them, and not only did I find one, but found some wonderful customer service and a fun store. If you are ever in Geneva and need yarn or knitting supplies, I highly recommend checking out Wool & Company. Now when I list a froggable sweater, like this lovely example from Iceland, I can take pictures of the knit gauge against the sweater! What do you think froggers?

Monday, November 9, 2009

Christmas crafts!

I have to decided that this year I will be making all my Christmas presents for my friends & family. With my husband laid off, I have the time, and homemade gifts are so much nicer! I want to share it all with you, but my family & friends read my blog! I have set up an online photo album, that is shared by a link. If you email me, krisnstevep(at)netzero(dot)com, I will give you the link. If you just put "link, please!" in the subject of your email, you don't even have to write anything, and i'll forward you the link. I will be adding things as I make them, and the link will remain the same, so you can save it. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions under my photos... I need all the help I can get!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Sweater Sunday

What a busy weekend! I won't bore you with the details, and get on with the sweaters! I was late getting to the thrift store, and had a headache, so I didn't look as hard as I usually do, but I still managed to get a few goodies.
The wool,

The cashmere,

and the fun prints (love the little houses!)

Happy Sweater Sunday all! Tune in tomorrow for my super secret Christmas crafts!